Art of vulcanizing rubber.



J. R. GAMMETER.

ART OF VULUANIZING RUBBER.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JUNE 20, 1901.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l VENTOR i o'b I ATTOREY I J. R. GAMMETER.

ART OF VULOANIZING RUBBER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20, 1907. 8'

3 Flea 4 '////I//////II/II/II///III/I/I/II/IIIIlI/I/I/I ZVII/IIlI/II/I/l/II///I///////////////////// UNITED STAT ljlS PATENTOFFICE.

JOHN R. GAMMETER, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICHCOMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ART OF VULCANIZING RUBBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

Original application filed May 20, 1907, Serial No. 374,686. Dividedand. this application filed. June 20, 1907.

i Serial No. 379,831.

v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN R. GAMME'rnn, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at the city of Akron, county of Summit, and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art ofVulcanizing Rubber, (Case C4,) of Which the following is aspecification.

.My invention relates to improvements in methods of vulcahizing articlesof rubber whereby vulcanization may be carried on as a continuousprocess.

It particularly relates to an improved and continuous process of curingor vulcanizing hose, tubing, solid or hollow rubber tires, and the likearticles of'rubber, without coiling, in any desired lengths, by means ofa novel endless steam jacketed wire channel,

or mold conveyer, and means for causing the same to travel continuouslythrough the said steam acket whereby vulcanization is effected intransit.

My invention has for its objects the provision of a method whereby hoseor the like may be continuously produced in unlimited lengths and may becured or vulcanized while straight so that the finished product willhave no tendency to coil or kink.

A further object of my invention is the production of hose and the likeof ,great durability at less cost of material and manufacture than thatresulting from any prior process.

The manufacture of hose as at present practiced is subject toalternative disadvantages. If the hose is to be cured in straightlengths, only comparatively short lengths can be produced through thelimitations imposed by the depth of practicable vulcanizstraight and thecorrugations upon'its ex-.

. terior surface formed by the wire mold serve line 03146 of Fig. 2.same at right angles on the line zz of Fig.

to protect it from wear to such an extent that less rubber is requiredfor this outer jacket.

I attain these objects by the method hereinafter set forth which may bepracticed by the apparatus disclosed in the accompanying drawingsforming part of this specific-a tion, or by any other suitable means orapparatus.

This case is a division of my application for apparatus for vulcanizingrubber filed May 20, 1907, Serial Number 374,686, in which the novelapparatus herein disclosed is claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a set of three vulcanizersshowing endless conveyers and the means for causing their continuoustravel therethrough. Fig. 2 shows an elevation of the apparatusillustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is anend view in elevation of thisapparatus. Fig. 4: is a de tail sectional view showing the endless wirebands constituting a combined mold and conveyer. Fig. 5 is a transversesectional view of the parted steam jacket and mold on the Fig.6 is asection of 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are an elevation and transversesectionrespectively of the guide tube. Like reference numeralsthroughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

1 is the uncured hose, 2 a channel composed of two endless wire bands 3and 4 formed into a circle as they enter the flared mouth of the channelpipe or guide tube 17,

which runs through the vulcanizer intermediate the jackets 18 and 20formed within made in the same manner around its corresponding set oflower drums, 6 and 34. These two separate endless bands of parallelwires, "each of a plurality of turns, constitute both a mold and mold,conveyer, forming a complete circular channel of wires when passingthrough the tube 17. The drums 5 and 6 are idler sheaves mounted uponthe shaft 26, which is made adjustable by the screws 28 in the supports27 in which it is journaled, so that the tension of the wire bandscomposingthe endless mold may be suitably adjusted. These bandsare-shown as broken away in Fig. 1 on the drums 5 and 32, to permit aView of the underlying parts.

32 are the pulling sheaves to which suitable power is applied through atrain of gears. A suitable source of power, herein shown as the motor16, turns a shaft 15 carrying a worm 14, meshing with the cogs of thegear wheel 13 on the driving shaft bearing the pinion 12, which meshesin turn with .the spur wheel 11 of the driving shaft 10,

bearing the pinions 9, these meshing with the spur wheels 7, whoseprojecting rims from the sheaves or drums 32 carrying the belt-3. Thespur wheel 7 meshes with the spur wheel 8, the extension of whose rimforms the drum or sheave. carrying the belt 4, transmitting motionthereby to the idler sheave 6. Application of suitable power thusenables the belts 3 and 4 to be moved at an equal and controlled rate ofspeed, so that the travel of each half of the mold between the steamjackets 18 and 20 is'at a predetermined, equal and constant speed. Thesteam jacket comprises the cast iron sections 18 and 20, formed withinwhich respectively, are the steam chambers 19 and 21. The" two sections18 and 20 are fitted and bolted together as shown, each chamber having asuitable steam connection 22 and 33, Fig. 2. The steam passes, in caseof a series of vulcanizers as here illustrated, into 7 one of thevulcanizers as at 22, through its length and therefrom by the pipe 23 tothe next, then through it, and from it the pipe 24 to the next, thencereturning by the pipe 25, so thatthe circulation of steam may bemaintained through the series, as illustrated by Fig. 1. The lowerchambers are similarly fitted with corresponding steam connections. Itis often preferable however to run a header transversely of the chambersand connect each chamber with it. h

The method of vulcanization with,,and of operation of, my apparatus, inthe curing, for example,'o'f rubber hose, which is here chosen'forillustration, is as follows;

A tube of unvulcanized rubber having been formed in the usual manner ina tub- 'ing machine, and one'or more'plies'of fabric having'been braidedorwoven over the tube by acircular loom or otherwise, and a coatlng ofunvulcaniz'edgum or rubber having been placed over'this braided or wovenjacket by an insulating die in the usual manner, and this process havingbeen continued untilthe number of desired plies of altera mold but alsoas a conveyer', drawing one end of the hose through the vulcanizer, sothat the hose does not slip along the wires but that the wires and thehose travel together inside of the stationary tube 17 Be-.

fore this free end 31 enters between the end: less bands, it is plugged.The other end of the hose upon the feed reel is connected to a source ofair supply under pressure shown diagrammatically in this instance as thepipe 30 connected to a source of air pressure, controlled by the valve29. Compressed air or other compressible medium, as gas, liquid, orsteam, is then admitted to the hose throughout its length. In practice Ihave found that air maintained at the pressure of about fifty pounds tothe square inch secures the best results. The uncured hose being formedof the approximate diameter of the endless wire mold, the hose whenexpanded by inflation before it enters the mold, becomes of somewhatgreater diameter and is compressed by the mold upon its entry into thefunnel mouth of the tube running through the vulcanizer, thus making itmore compact before vulcanization. Steam having been admitted to thesteam chambers until they are at the proper temperature for vulcanizing,the apparatus is ready for continuous operation and power may now beapplied to the driving drums to convey hose through the vulcanizer at aconstant rate predetermined in accordance with the quantity and qualityof the rubber compound to be cured. As the hose passes in at one end itgradually becomes heated, the absorbed heat increases with its traveluntil it attains the temperature requisite for vulcanization at which itremains throughout the balance of its passage, issuing in due course asa finished product. By my method it is thus possible to cure hose ofpractically unlimited lengths in one piece, by uninterrupted andcontinuous operation. Any length may be made by splicing the forward endof an uncured length to the rear end of, its predecessor in thevulcanizer.

The only interruption to the continuity of the process in the lattercase is for the purpose of splicing, which can readily be effected bythose, skilled in the art, the inflation tap being applied'at the rearend of such new section. 7 It is to .be understood however that each ofthesesections may be several thousand feet in length if desired, so thatit is possible to produce hose of great length without splicing andwithout interruption of the continuous process of vulwall of the hose ortube, and the temperature of the steam chamber will be varied inaccordance with the nature of the compound or the amount of materialundergoing treatment, likewise the internal pressure, the nature of theinflating medium and the tension of the endless mold willv be Varied incorre spondence' with the varied conditions of the stock to be cured.

My process is alike applicable as has been noted, to the curingof solidrubber stock where it is desiredto produce unlimited lengths ofhomogeneous vulcanized compounds, as solid tires or belting. 3

I have illustrated a construction whereby the number of wires formingthe traveling mold may be conveniently varied. In order to accomplishthis without cutting the endless Wire belt I provide auxiliary channelswhich may be formed in the walls of the vulcanizing chamber as shown inFig. 5, one channel for the surplus wires of the upper belt and theother for the surplus wires of the lower belt. To get the wires into andout of the tube 17 I form in the wall of the tube a spiral slot 40 asshown in Figs. 7 and 8. This slot usually makes about one-fourth of aturn in the length of the tube.

In operation it is found that the inner surface of the tube 17 wearsaway, thus enlarging its diameter and allowing the wire strands tospread apart. In order to keep the tube completely lined with the wires,an additional wire must be from time to time inserted and this is doneby means of the above described devices as follows: The parts of thevulcanizing chamber are separated, the wires slackened, and one or morewires are taken out of one of the channels 35 and passed through theslot 40 into the guide tube. The vulcanizing chamber is then puttogether again, the wires tightened, and the apparatus is ready foroperation. In like -manner if it is desired to vulcanize hose or otherarticles of a different diameter, the parts of the vulcanizing chambercan be separated, the wires all'taken out through the slot -10, the tube17 removed, and another tube of the same external diameter but of adifferent internal diameter put in its place. A sufficient number ofwires to line this tube are then inserted through its slot 40 and theparts adjusted for operation.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. The method of vulcanizing articles in unlimited lengths consisting inlongitudinally advancing the article to be vulcanized, progressivelycompressing the article laterally as it advances, at a ratesubstantially equal to that of the advance, and subjecting the portionsunder compression to heat while maintaining such portions in asubstantially straight line.

2. The method of producing vulcanized rubber tubing consisting 1nadvanclng the tube continuously through the vulcanizer' andprogressively inclosing and compressing of the tube laterally as itadvances, at a rate substantially equal to that of the advance andsubjecting the portions under compression to heat.

3. The method of vulcanizing rubber tubing in unlimited lengthsconsisting in, first, expanding said tubing; second, in compressing thetubing thus expanded; and third, in passing the tubing while underpressure in continuous travel through a vulcanizing chamber.

4. The method of vulcanizing rubber tubing consisting in filling thetubing with fluid under pressure and passing the same through avulcanizing chamber.

The method of vulcanizing rubber tubing consisting in filling the tubingwith fluid under pressure, compressing the outside of the tube andpassing the same through a vulcanizing chamber.

6. The method of vulcanizing rubber tubing consisting in subjecting theinner and outer surfaces thereof to pressure and while in this conditionpassing the tube in continuous travel through a vulcanizing chamber.

7. The method of vulcanizing a continuous strip of rubber stockconsisting in gradually feeding it through a vulcanizing chamber,supporting the portions within the chamber in a substantially straightline, inclosing and applying pressure to the successive portions of thestrip as they approach and enter the chamber, maintaining such pressureu on the portions of the strip passing through the chamber and removingthe pressure from the successive portions of the strip as they emergefrom the chamber, whereby those portions wherein vulcanization isactually taking place are maintained in a straight line and underpressure.

8. The method of vulcanizing an article of great length substantially asa continuous operation, which consists in forming a mold about thesuccessive portions of the article to be vulcanized as they approach theV111- canizing chamber, passing the mold surrounded portions of thearticle through the chamber, and freeing the article from the mold asfast as it emerges from the chamber.

&

9. The method of vulcanizing an article of great length consisting infeeding it in a longitudinal direction through a vulcanizer,progressively surrounding each portion of the article With molding andcompressing means as such portion approaches the entrance to thevulcanizer, maintaining the .relation between the molding andcompressing lneans and the respective portions of the ar- 10 ticlesurrounded thereby until such portions have completed their travelthrough the vulcanizer, and finally progressively freeing such portionsfrom said molding and compressing means as they emerge from thevulcanizer.

7 JOHN R. GAMMETER.

Witnesses: I

WALKER K. MEANS, ARTHUR -E. DAVISON.

